We have just been to Amritsar, the Mekka of the Sikh: the city is home to the Golden Temple, where the Holy Book lies.

The Golden Temple is absolutely magnificent, both in the evening when the Book is put to rest, as well as during the day when one can visit the endless kitchens that prepare 40.000 meals a day....every day of the year. Anyone can visit and eat...the Temple is open to any nationality, religion or gender. It is truly remarkable and it was the first place in India where we felt the sense of spirituality that we had expected before we came here.
the complex itself is buzzing with people, both during the day as well as the evening. They are wandering about, sitting on the waterfront watching the temple, taking a dip in the Holy water (men out in the open, women in special little buildings where they can bathe undisturbed by curious eyes), or having a meal or a tea in one of the enormous dining halls.
We were invited to join in making chapati's, of which 100.000 are produced every day; the whole thing seems to be a social gathering where one catches up on the latest gossips. The atmosphere was wonderful.

And one wonders...if such a thing of beauty and peace and spirituality originated in India, could it then be that the we hoped to see India is hidden but still out there? What lies beneath the surface?